A Bangor mental health clinic with more than 1,000 clients is closing in August, according to the clinic’s owner.
Dirigo Counseling Clinic will close Aug. 8 due to owner Alan Algee’s retirement, he said. Most of the clinic’s providers plan to go into private practice and will bring their clients with them.
The closure comes amid a shortage of mental health professionals in Maine and nationwide. More than 260,000 Mainers lived in areas with mental health provider shortages as of December 2024, according to health policy research organization KFF.
“I am not optimistic about the future of our profession in light of the dramatic changes in the regulations” around mental health care, Algee said. “I believe that this will reshape how we deliver mental health services and to whom.”
Dirigo provides counseling services for kids and adults at three locations in Bangor. It partners with many agencies, including multiple local hospitals, according to its website. The organization has provided services for 21 years to more than 10,000 people and has 33 employees, Algee said.
“We are working with our employees, and our community partners, to make sure that continued services are available to our clients who need them,” Algee said.
Jim LaPierre, the executive director of Brewer counseling organization Higher Ground Services, said Dirigo’s closure is a loss for the community, describing it as one piece in a much larger provider shortage.
“My concern is for the Greater Bangor community, for folks getting the services that they need, and that is becoming increasingly difficult” as demand for mental health care rises and providers dwindle, he said.
“My waitlist is terrible … the demand is always going to be higher than what we can meet.”
